COVID-19: 7.9 people per lakh affected in India- How it can be compared with the world?

The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has, on Wednesday, revealed that 7.9 people per lakh population in India has been affected by Coronavirus (COVID-19) so far which, according to the ministry, is relatively low while compared to the global average which stands at 62 people per lakh population.

While addressing the press briefing on Wednesday, Lav Agarwal, who is the joint secretary of the Union Health Ministry, has put forth the state of the pandemic in the country during which he stated that 7.9 people per lakh population have been affected in India and he highlighted that India accounts for 0.24 mortality rate per lakh population which has been lower than the world average of 4.2 people per lakh population.

The health secretary stated that 42,298 people have been recovered and discharged in the country so far as of Tuesday and the recovery rate in India has also been soaring high. The current recovery rate stands at 39.62 percent while it was 7.1 percent at the beginning of the nationwide lockdown, he added.

Of current active cases, 6.39 percent have been under hospital support of which 2.94 are under the oxygen support, 3 percent at ICU support, and 0.45 percent have been getting treated under ventilators support, and India has recorded 0.2 deaths per lakh population.

According to the health secretary, India has recorded 11.42 percent of recovery during the second phase of the lockdown while the number increased to 26.59 percent in the third phase of the lockdown and he stated that it's satisfactory that the recovery rate has been increasing amid surging cases.

The reports hinted that the mortality rate due to COVID-19 in India has been relatively low than the developed countries. The United States, which is the worst-hit country due to the pandemic, has recorded a 28.10 per lakh mortality rate, the United Kingdom has 53.27 while Italy has recorded 53.23 and these three countries have got placed in the list of top ten countries with the high mortality rate.

When the first lockdown started, then recovery rate was around 7.1%, the recovery rate during 2nd lockdown was 11.42%, it then rose to 26.59%. Today the recovery rate is 39.62%: Lav Agarwal, Union Health ministry joint secretary #COVID19pic.twitter.com/p3ebJM6VIp

China, which introduced the virus to the world, has recorded 0.33 percent per lakh mortality rate which is a little higher than what the second-most populous country has recorded. According to Johns Hopkins University, the mortality rate is one of the crucial factors that would reveal the current state and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

As per the official figures issued by the Union Health Ministry, India has reported 1,12,359 cases for the virus so far as of Thursday morning of which 45,300 have been recovered while 3435 have succumbed to the pandemic. In the last 24 hours, the country has recorded 5,609 fresh cases and 132 fatalities. According to the Health Ministry, Maharashtra has the most of the number of cases in the country -39,297 followed by Tamil Nadu 13,191, Gujarat -12,537, and Delhi- 11,088 cases.